The six-month-old unnamed son of Mary Ann and William Morris died this date, February 22nd, in 1844 of Gastritis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. By 1847, according to the Philadelphia African American Census, Mr. Morris was no longer in public documents.* I have not been able to find a death certificate for him. The 1847 Census reports that Ms. Morris is occupied as a wash woman with two daughters at home between the ages of five and fifteen years of age. Both attend school and can read and write. They were born in Pennsylvania while Ms. Morris was not. Ms. Morris and her children regularly attended church services. She also was a member of a beneficial society in the church. The family lived in one 11’x11′ room at 19 Middle Alley for which they paid $1.25 in rent, likely the equivalent to what Ms. Morris earned in a week of work. Middle Alley was one of the most notorious and deadly pestholes in the city and districts of Philadelphia. Many residents, both adults and children, would die from want of food and medical attention. Infanticide was not uncommon and the city’s coroner was not an infrequent visitor to the unpaved “Murderer’s Row.”

The Morris infant died on a clear day where the temperature rose to 54 degrees. Sadly, Mary Ann Morris would die of Tuberculosis in Blockley Hospital seven years later and was buried in the local Potter’s Field. 

*The death certificate is not signed by a physician. It is signed by George W. Morse. There is a man by that name listed in the 1844 City Directory as a “card manufacturer” or printer that prints business and social cards. This individual may have been Mr. Morris’ employer and perhaps gives us a hint at what Mr. Morris did for a living.

The unnamed seventeen-month-old daughter of John A. Warren died this date, February 7th, in 1845 of Marasmus* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. I was unable to locate the name of the child’s mother. The 1847 African American Census is the only document where the Warren family is recorded. The reason for this may be that the family or members of the family formerly were enslaved and had escaped their captivity. This group of people did not tend to be receptive to census takers. The 1847 Census does report a total of six members in the family – four males and two females. Four family members were between 15 years and 50 years of age. There was one family member between 5 years and 15 years and one under the age of 5. Four of the family members were not native to the state of Pennsylvania. 

The 1847 Census simply states the family lived on Cedar Street which we now know as South Street. There was no house number given. We do know that they paid $7.50 a month for rent which was a hefty amount and may mean they rented more than just one room. The above photo is of the three hundred block of Cedar which now is only several blocks from the Delaware River docks. Mr. Warren sold oysters for a living, so it is likely that the family lived near the eastern end of Cedar Street. Oysters were the fast food of the 18th and 19th century in Philadelphia. Mr. Warren’s income would not have been steady because of the variability of the weather and the seasonal availability of oysters. Given the high rent, other members of the family beside Mr. Warren also had to be employed.

Oyster boats cannot work if they are frozen in the January ice.

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The Warrens’ baby girl died on a day that saw the end of a three-day snow and ice storm that deposited up to twelve inches of snow locally. Traveling within the city was practically impossible. The body at least would have been wrapped in a sheet and kept in the family’s room or apartment. The family may have had a small coffin made.

*Marasmus is caused by starvation or a diet totally absent from necessary nutrition. Apart from weight loss, long-term effects of Marasmus in children include repeated infections. Diarrhea, measles, or respiratory infections are serious complications that can be fatal in a child with this illness. 

Twelve-year-old John Tilton died this date, February 5th, in 1854 of convulsions and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. John was buried next to his father Charles Tilton and two sisters, Adelia, seven months old, and a three-year-old whose first name was not recorded. (See below for further information on these.)

At the time of his death, John was being raised by his thirty-four-year-old mother, Matilda Tilton who was born enslaved in Maryland. Her freedom was purchased for $100, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. Ms. Tilton worked as a wash woman to support her family, according to 1847 and 1850 U.S. Census. 

At the time of his death, young John Tilton had a thirteen-year-old brother William. Both boys were born in Pennsylvania. They lived with their mother in a tenement on Eutaw Alley between Rodman and South Streets and between 11th and 12th Streets in the southern part of center city. The short narrow thoroughfare was previously named Wagner’s Alley and currently is called Sartain Street. The Tilton family home was one room for which Ms. Tilton paid monthly the approximate equivalent of what she would earn in a good week of work. 

Undated photograph of Sartain Street. (Temple University Urban Archives)

According to the 1847 Census, young John Tilton and his siblings attended the Raspberry Alley School that was established in 1840 through Quaker philanthropy. Ms. Emeline Higgins, a highly respected educator, would teach reading, writing, and arithmetic to approximately thirty boys and girls yearly in Raspberry Alley near the corner of Ninth and Walnut Streets in center city Philadelphia. She was one of several African American women and men that taught in private schools for Black children.

Twelve-year-old John Tilton died on a cold day in January where the temperature only reached 19 degrees. He was buried next to his father Charles Tilton who died ten years earlier of Tuberculosis at forty-two-years old. John was also laid to rest with his sisters Adelia who also died in 1844 of Cholera at seven months old and an unnamed three-year-old sister who died in 1839 of an unspecified lung disease. 

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